I know it looks like "Papa-cia", but it's actually "papacy-ia". :p The flag is a work in progress. The real Papal flag is too difficult and it would be unoriginal of me to just copy it. I also am not Catholic, though I am starting to get an interest in Catholic ideas, if anything is wrong or offensive, please let me know. I am not fully educated and grew up in a household that at best, didn't like Catholics. Papacia is a devoutly Catholic country, housing the Pope/Holy See, with the capital being the Holy Papal City (Very original, I know-). Their main goals are to stay independent and spread Catholicism everywhere, finally becoming the "Catholic" (Universal) church once again. The Pope is the official leader, acting as the Executive and Judicial branches of the government. The Pope can veto any rules they don't like, they can propose legislation, are in full control of foreign affairs, control the bureaucracy, appoint Judges, pass legislation without approval from the Senate, can declare a state of emergency and seize absolute power, etc. The Pope also acts like the Supreme Court, settling major disputes and interpreting laws, though he doesn't usually need to, as the Papacia uses Civil Law (Excluding the Pope, who acts when needed). He leads the Senate, similarly to how a Prime Minister would. The Senate, made up of the Synod and the Assembly, is also quite important, despite the massive influence and powers the Pope wields. The Synod is made up of all the Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals, as well as the Pope. They are all appointed directly by the Pope, and thus basically do everything the Pope tells them to. They are the upper house, able to propose legislation, veto legislation from the Assembly, forcefully pass their legislation if the Assembly vetoes it, control the budget, are in charge of theocratic laws/moral codes, etc. They also have the power to veto the Pope's picks for the bureaucracy, but never have. They are often very qualified individuals who advise the Pope. The Assembly is made up of local representatives, which the Pope draws the map of. They are the lower house, and every candidate needs a blessing from the Pope to run. They can propose legislation and veto legislation from the Synod. They also advise the Pope on what the people might think about things and such. They only exist due to political pressure from people hundreds of years ago who thought the Papacy was becoming too corrupt. They can attempt to impeach the Pope, but the Synod usually stops all effort to, and it basically destroys the political career of anyone who votes for it or proposes it. There are several factions/parties, though all political parties must be approved by the Pope. First, there are the Papal Monarchists, who want to abolish the Senate and give absolute power to the Pope. They usually also are the first to encourage the Pope to call a crusade against literally any enemy, and they want the Pope to form the "Holy Roman Empire", a Roman world ruled by the Catholic Church. They have support from the more radical/obsessed Catholics. Next, there are the Distributists. They want to put the means of production into the hands of each family, basically, small-business Capitalism. They mostly have support from rural areas, who they in turn mostly support/protect. They are family-centered and some more radical members of the party are Nepotists. The most radical sect, who has no representation, and very little support, are the Theocratic Distributists, who believe the power of the Church should be in the hands of every family. Then, there are the Corporatists. They are in favour of turning the Senate into a Synod where every stakeholder has equal say. They want the Pope to lead the economy, with everyone working together collectively towards a common goal. Some more radical sects are Fascist of sorts. They want the Pope to be an absolute dictator and believe the Papacy must militarize to spread and defeat its enemies. They are extremely loyal to the Pope and to the country, "For Pope And For Papacy". There is also the Liberals, who are the most popular among the people. They believe in natural/human rights, equality in every way for everyone as well improving living/working conditions for all. The more radical ones are Anarchists, who want to abolish the Papacy and the government to live in perfect Catholic-Anarchist utopia, t though most have been excommunicated. The Liberals are the main point of conflict, with the Papacy/Synod constantly struggling with or working with them, depending on who's the Pope. They are the strongest supporters of welfare programs, and despite being considered very Catholic by the people, the Papacy hates them for trying to take power away from the Papacy.
Finally, there are the Democrats, one of the biggest and most diverse. They are usually moderates, though some want to make the Synod democratic, and the most radical want to make the whole government + church democratic. The more radical branch is called the "Protestant-Democrats" and is often prosecuted by the Papacy, while the more Moderate Democrats are mostly well-liked by everyone. The Clergy are often the wealthiest, as immense wealth is basically banned for anyone who isn't in the Clergy. However, despite owning a lot, their salaries aren't the greatest, and a lot of their wealth is used to help the poor. Not all of it, and the Clergy still live like Aristocracy, which is where the country is most split. Some want to abolish the Clergy, moderates want to limit their wealth or keep the status-quo, and some of the Clergy of course want to make a lot more money. I might use this nation at some point, I might not, I just thought about it and wanted to make it. :p
